Williams: NFL overlooked Giants

NEW ORLEANS - Kyle Williams can't believe the New York Giants weren't punished by the NFL for targeting him in last year's NFC Championship Game.

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Kyle Williams can't believe the New York Giants weren't punished by the NFL for targeting him in last year's NFC Championship Game.

The punt returner whose mistakes cost the 49ers a chance to make the last Super Bowl, and who will miss Sunday's game against Baltimore with an injured left knee, said Wednesday he is "shocked" that the Giants escaped discipline.

"The only thing crazy to me was that nothing came of it after they came down so much on the Saints," Williams said.

"The league announced the bounties and that (former Saints defensive coordinator) Gregg Williams said the same things the Giants were saying. They took it to the highest level they could with the Saints. But it seemed like the league decided it was no big deal what the Giants said."

What Giants special teamers Jacquian Williams and Devin Thomas said after New York's 20-17 overtime victory sounded similar to what the Saints were sanctioned for.

"The thing is, we knew he had four concussions, so that was our biggest thing was to take him out of the game," said linebacker Jacquian Williams, who forced the 49ers returner's overtime fumble, which set up the winning field goal.

Thomas recovered both errors - the first was considered a muff when the ball glanced off Williams' right knee.

"He's had a lot of concussions," Thomas said. "We were just like, 'We've got to put a hit on that guy.' "

The NFL did not punish either player following that game, saying, "There was no conduct by the Giants of any kind that would suggest an effort to injure Kyle Williams in any way."

And the Giants were not penalized once the Saints bounties were announced.

"Guys are trying to put guys out of the game every game, so it did not surprise me," Kyle Williams said. "You know a guy has a history of injuries, you'll go after it. You might not say it, but you do it."

But the Giants said it.

"Yeah," Williams said with a shrug. "But it's all in the past now. And we're at the Super Bowl."

In a season that began with criticism of replacement refs, the NFL found itself dealing with questions about the qualifications of its lead official for the Super Bowl.

Jerome Boger, a member of NFL officiating crews for nine years, will be the referee Sunday in his first NFL title game amid accusations by a former official-turned-broadcaster that the league doctored his rating.

Boger has worked four divisional playoff games, including the San Francisco 49ers' victory over Green Bay this year. He entered the league as a line judge in 2004, and was promoted to referee in 2006. He is only the second black referee to work the title game, following Mike Carey five years ago.

His impending selection, which was formally announced Wednesday, was criticized earlier this week by Jim Daopoulos, who was quoted in The New York Times as saying the grading of some officials, including Boger, was altered.

Daopoulos worked 11 years as an on-field official and 12 years as a supervisor before joining NBC as an analyst.

"I'm looking at the seven guys who are working in the Super Bowl, and to be quite honest, several of them should not be on the field," Daopoulos told the Times.

Daopoulos added he believed the league predetermined who would work the Super Bowl.

The league and the referees' union have denied such claims, citing the evaluation process. Ray Anderson, NFL executive vice president of football operations, called the allegations "patently false and insulting to Jerome Boger." Attempts to reach Boger were unsuccessful. The NFL does not make officiating crews available before games.

Under the NFL officiating program's evaluation system, the highest-rated eligible officials at each position are chosen for the Super Bowl. The officials must have at least five years of NFL experience and previous playoff assignments.

49ers linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith were limited participants in the team's first full practice in New Orleans because of shoulder injuries.

Wind that topped 20 mph sent the 49ers to the Saints' indoor practice facility for their 95-minute session. All 53 San Francisco players were on the field, according to the pool report, including tight end Garrett Celek, who missed practice time last week with a foot injury. He practiced Wednesday without limitation.

Favre hasn't been heard from much since retiring after the 2010 season. He returns to the city where he led the Green Bay Packers to a 35-21 win over New England in the 1997 Super Bowl.

"I don't miss the grind and stress of day-to-day football, but I do miss my teammates and coaches," Favre said in an email to The Associated Press.

The chorus from Sandy Hook Elementary will sing "America the Beautiful" before the game. ... A federal judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit that a Saints season-ticket holder filed against commissioner Roger Goodell over the league's bounty investigation.